Unplanned Beauty
by ChicaNikki149
Summary: Their love was never planned, and this was even less expected. Michael and Nikita face their biggest challenge yet, but will they do it together? READ&REVIEW please. Rated M just because I'm paranoid.
1. Results

(A/N: Yes I have two other active fanfics right now, but I got this idea and HAD to run with it! LOL. So here comes my third. Its Mikita lovelyness so I hope you all enjoy the ride! I LOVE reviews, they make my day)

Disclaimer: I own nothing, simply the plot :)

Their love was never planned; It was an unexpected spark, a surprsing beautiful connection. It was never simple, far from it. It was complicated and forbidden; It was against every law Division had implemented. It was dangerous.

However, what they shared and what feelings coursed through their veins were too strong to ignore. Ofcourse things forced them apart, especially when she reappeared on the grid, determined to take down the agency she previously worked for- the one he was still involved in. But unanticipated moments of pleasure and pain occurred, always reminding them of their lingering love; It never waivered in leaving them confused when they did part ways.

But that one fateful night, after he had discovered the true identity of her mole, niether walked away. He unexpectantly showed up at her lair, and they made love. And from that evening of passion, came an unpredicted result.

"Unbelieveable," Nikita groaned, staring down at the plastic stick. She really would not have believed if the two bars were not gazing back up at her; The only reason she even considered this idea was after two weeks of being ill was because of an off-handed joke made by Alex.

"Hey, maybe it's morning sickness," The 19 year old had said with an added chuckle.

It was then she realized it wasn't as funny as her friend had thought, because Nikita secretly knew it wasn't out of the realm of possibility. Even without a due date in mind, she knew the dates coincided; She also knew there had only been one man in that time period. The same man that has owned her heart for six years.

Dropping the test onto the desk, she ran a hand through her dark locks, "How the hell can I be pregnant?" She mumbled to the empty room, but she began to think of the more assaulting question: How the hell was she going to tell Michael?

Alex was informing her of a mission, that much Nikita understood. Various jumbled words meshed together into sentences that in any other circumstance would captivate Nikita's full attention. However, in this moment, too many conflicting thoughts were clouding her mind to focus on her protege's information.

"Hello! Nikita!" This direct comment snapped her out of her thinking and she glanced at the light haired beauty who said it and was wearing a questioning expression.

"What?" was the rogue agent's simple response, perplexing Alex even more.

"Did you hear a word I said?"

"Ofcourse, just... thinking of our next step," She naturally answered, she had managed to hear the main details of her partner's new assignment, so it wasn't a complete fabrication. She stood from her stool, however, a rush of dizziness forced her back onto it.

"Woah, woah, woah. Are you OK?" The younger of the women asked, rushing to her mentor's side, "Nikita, what happened? Should I..."

Anxiety was clearly overtaking her student, not helping her own. She had experienced moments of feeling woozy since she had been "under the weather", but this time was different, worse. But, with Alex kneeling beside her, she didn't have much of a choice other than donning her usual brave face.

"Alex, calm down," She chuckled softly, inhaling careful breaths and relaxing at the warmth of blood swimming back through her veins, "I just got a little light-headed."

"Are you still sick? Because I've never seen you get light-headed; I can do this mission on my-"

"I'm FINE," Nikita emphasized, standing up (against Alex's physical and vocal objections) to prove her point, "See? I'm alright, no reason to worry."

Alex was skeptical, observing her teacher with a wary eye as the femme fatale manuevered around the lair with her normal, effortless ease. "If you're sure..." She trailed off, with not much assurance in her tone.

"Alex, we have a job to do. Nothing has stopped us before, a little read hush is not going to stop us now. Now, where is the meeting spot for this op again?"  



	2. Missions

(A/N: Thank you for reading and reviewing! I really love them all! So hint hint, KEEP DOING IT hehe :D)

"Alright, we have to go help Aunt Alex so if you could keep the nauseum to a minimum, that'd be great, thanks," Nikita spoke to her stomach as she placed her hands on the (for now) flat abdomen.

It was a few days after her and her partner-in-crime's latest pow-wow and today was Alex's mission aka Nikita's first while pregnant. The beauty had actually managed to squeeze in a doctor's appointment- something she hadn't done since her pre-Division days. Usually, Nikita hated to use her forged I.D. and other goodies from her masterfully crafted identity package, but this was a neccesary fate she could not escape. Prescribed prenatal vitamins and to relieve herself from any tense situations, the medical professional covered all of Nikita's concerns.

However, the air in the small exam room seemed to evaporate as soon the doc saw the marks of previous injuries (the few that were visible!) Nikita had sustained over the years. Always the skillful performer, the assassin laughed it off and claimed they had been from her strenuous career as a stunt double. Ofcourse, the OBGYN ate up the story, "oohing" and "awwing" at the "difficult" tasks she must have to experience on a daily basis.

"Oh you have no idea," Nikita had replied honestly.

The doctor expressed her surprise Nikita had even been able to concieve with the particular distresses her body seemed to portray, and strictly advised an immediate maternity leave, not simply for the danger factors, but "too much stressful activity could potentially have harmful effects towards the baby."

Because in her daily life, stress was so easily avoidable; This warning had warranted a discreet eyeroll.

The last thing Nikita wanted was to intentionally put the person growing inside her in harms way, but aside from her and Michael's "miracle" (the doctor's term, one whose irony was not lost on Nikita), Alex was her family and she had to keep her safe too.

Checking the time, she was proud pregnancy hadn't thrown off her timing and left the lair.

Elsewhere, Nikita was not the only one preparing to shadow Alex- Michael was secretly waiting in the wings of the mission location. Now that he knew Nikita and Alex were the one's in cahoots, he took the responsibility of protecting them both fervently.

He always wanted to shield Nikita from the time she was his student to recent months when she was considered "the enemy". He couldn't bear the thought of her hurt or in danger (even though he knew she could protect herself better than he probably could), it killed him. For extremely different reasons was his urge to safeguard Division agents and recruits like Alex, with them it was basic human nature; With Nikita, it was love. No matter how hard he tried, his attempts to dissolve his feelings for her were futile. His feelings remained and in fact everytime he saw her, it was as if his love for her grew, even while holding a gun on her (or vice versa).

He knew that Nikita would make an appearance on this mission and he yearned to catch a glimpse of her. He had very few chances to see her since they spent the night together. Just a couple of miscellaneous nights had he been able to sneak over and spend time with her, but none of them very recent. He needed to see her, hold her, kiss her beautiful lips, to show her (although he was posing in Division) where his true loyalties lied.

He scoped out the venue, no sight of the mark, Alex, or Nikita. The spot was a luxury hotel, Alex was to position herself at the bar in the hotel lounge and ultimately find herself in the mark's suite to retrieve a flashdrive Percy coveted. A relatively simple task that normally a field agent would not be heading, but this distinctly required a beautiful female and Alex fit the bill better than other recruits (Or at least this is how it was explained to him by Amanda). Honestly, he didn't much care considering there would be less risk of endangerment and he would get the opportunity to interact with Nikita. Michael took a seat in the lounge where he had an ideal view of the bar, but where he was unnoticable, too.

Suddenly, a larger man Michael recognized as the target for Alex's op approaching the bar. It wasn't long after that a woman sauntered up beside him, but it wasn't Alex- It was Nikita. Michael resisted the desire to go to her, and instead sat and observed her actions.

A short while later, he watched as she managed to swindle the man's keycard and excuse herself. Michael slipped out of the lounge, seeing Alex enter the bar out of the corner of his eye, before he began following his favorite rogue agent.

Nikita took the elevator to the 7th floor where she knew Stefan's (the mark whose card she had just swiped) room was located. Smiling innocently at the mair she passed in the hallway, she made her way swiftly to the room. She had a few minutes to get into his suite, find the flashcard, copy the files onto her own device, delete the ones on the original, and leave it for Alex to retrieve. It was simple enough, she had done mundane missions like this one numerous amounts of time, however, as the chruning in her stomach reminded her, this was her first time doing it with child; the nauseum and light-headedness was overpowering.

Pushing the key into the door, she took the brief two seconds to inhale and exhale a breath. But the few seconds were taking longer than expected as the dizzy sensation was getting stronger and more forceful. She pressed her forhead to the cool surface of the hotel door. This couldn't be happening; She couldn't let Alex down and she could not allow Percy to get what he wanted.

However, what Nikita longed for was irrelevant when the darkness took over.  



	3. Complications

(A/N: I am SO sorry for the lack of updates! I've been working on vids and other stuff and just have NOT had time! LOL. But OMG 1x17 & 1x18 were BEYOND amazing! I could go on and on about them but thats what Twitter is for. LOL. Please R&R or tell me your thoughts through a tweet. I just love feedback! :D This is dedicated to five people on Twitter that have been SO patient and are way too nice to me: Sue, VeggieShake, LexiieHunteR, QuishyFace, and 12Nikita)

When Michael rounded the corner of the 7th floor, he was immediately perplexed at the sight of Nikita seemingly leaning against the door of the mark's room. His brow furrowed, confusion sweeping him over, and he cautiously began walking towards her. However, when Nikita started to sway, fear shot through his body and adrenaline pumped through his veins, making his feet speed faster than he knew they were physically capable of. As the beauty fell limp in his arms, in spite of all the training he's had to ignore it, panic flooded his mind.

Sliding to the floor, he held her securely in his arms. He brushed a piece of her dark hair away from her face, praying her eyes would open- even if it was just to fight with him like she had done so many times in the past.

"Nikita? Nikita, c'mon, Nikita! Wake up," He placed a gentle kiss on her forehead, mumbling a "please" into her ear. He retracted slightly, gazing at her again, "Nikita, I just got you back- I'm not losing you again."

However, thats when he remembered they were still in the hotel hallway- a hallway with a secruity camera that Division would anazlyze post Alex's completed mission. Thankfully, since Michael volunteered to supervise Alex's mission to ease Amanda's suspicions and accusations, the black ops agency would have no need to monitor the mission while it was in progress. However, when they did decide to review the recordings, they'd see Nikita weak and vulnerable, just how Percy wanted her- he was not going to allow them to have that advantage.

Michael scooped her up in his arms and took her into the mark's room, the closest place available to shield her and find out what the hell was going on. He laid her carefully on the royal, king sized mattress in the center of the room before simulataneously whipping out his cell phone and dialing Alex's number and rushing to the bathroom and retrieving a wet washcloth.

"Hello?" A hiss was heard from the opposite line of the phone.

"Alex, go to the main control room. It's on the left corridor from the entrance, end of the hall, and to the left." His erratic attention to detail that like most things, he took very seriously, had paid off. He felt a pain shoot through him when he realized Nikita should be bounding toward him teasing him about that.

"But Michael-" Alex's voice held a strong sense bewilderment, but he time was not a luxury and coddling the young agent was not a priority- not even close.

"Delete ALL footage from the 7th floor cameras- do not skip a single one, there are multiples."

"But the mission-"

"Forget about the damn mission!" He cursed under his breath, snapping at Alex was futile so he adapted a calmer voice and finished the instructions, "Don't worry, I'll take care of the USB, but do whatever it takes to delete that footage."

He hung up, shoving the cellular device back into his pocket and walked back to where Nikita lay, cool compress in hand. He sat down beside her legs, facing her, and laid the damp cloth on her forehead.

"Nikita, what's going on?" He stared at her, his heart clinching, aching to be enlightened on what the reason behind this incident was. Nikita was hardly ever vulnerable, he'd only been made aware of that side to her on a few occasions; One was mere weeks ago when he gave her his ridiculous ultimatum to find Kasim (the image of tears streaming down her face still gave him nightmares), but they were able to get past everything they'd done to one another, their sporadic rendevouses at the lair had assisted with that.

In this instant, she appeared so helpless and fragile that Michael had a difficult time comprehending this was the same woman vowing to burn down a government agency. He couldn't resist smiling in the face of his anxiety though, because no matter how she looked or acted, she owned his heart.

Reaching out, his hand grazed her cheek, and he attempted to will her to open her eyes. For once, power of the mind was a success and Nikita's eyes slowly fluttered open. Startled at first, Michael covered her forearms with his hands to keep her calm, "You're ok," He shushed, releasing a massive sigh of relief while feeling his chest unconstrict.

Nikita groaned, rolling her head up and staring miserably at the ceiling, "No I'm not Michael," This alarmed her former instructor, but she hastily explained her statement, "I passed out on a mission. Alex and.. ohmygod, Alex! What-"

"She'll be fine," He assured, "I'm having her delete video footage at the moment and I'll cover for her at Division. Nikita, what's going on?" Nikita, however, was not prepared to talk about this, hear the pleading in his voice, nor the extreme concern in his eye. She wrangled her arms from his grasp and removed the compress (a gesture she found so sweet, that her guilt was more forceful now), and rubbed her hands over her face whilst mentally rehearsing how this scene could pan out. Without lying, she couldn't disguise the truth. Michael was a smart man (ironically, one of the qualities she loved most about him), he'd see through any fables she spun and more importantly, she didn't WANT to lie to him.

"Nikita," His voice was more commanding this time and Nikita realized she'd been silent longer than expected.

Suddenly, she was aware of tthe circumstances again and sat up quickly, "Are we in Stefan's room? I need to.." She attempted to remove herself from the bed, but Michael stopped her, bringing her gingerly back down to the mattress.

"Not so fast," Nikita sighed, she knew that tone- well.

"Michael, I'm not one of your students anymo-"

"Nikita can you even imagine what is was like for me to have you pass out in my arms?"

"Oh you mean like waiting to find out if someone's suicide mission was a success?" Michael was surprised she'd bring up the event in Uzbekistan with so much confidence, but it was her way of evading the original question posed to her and he knew as much. However, he didn't intend on forgetting the prior episode.

"You were unconscious for more than a few minutes," He leveled, trying to keep his voice steady, "You can't expect me to simply let that go."

"Michael, please," She begged exasperately, her own voice barely above a whisper.

They sat side by side in utter silence. Michael was the first to break the lull, but couldn't bring himself to look at her as he spoke the words, "I've already lost you before, for too long, I can't lose you again; I won't."

Nikita felt tears sting her eyes, but she tried to divert his graveness, "Michael, I just fainted-"

"You don't 'just faint' Nikita! Never on a mission, no matter the size and especially not when Alex is involved, I know how much you care about her so don't give me that bull that you're fine!" His anger was boling over due to her calmness in this situation.

Nikita certainly wasn't taken aback by his snapping in frustration, she understood how protective he was of her, how much he loved her. In contrast to those warm feelings, it made the news she had to inform him of harder. If he was this riled up by a mere fainting spell, how could he handle she was carrying their child? Now not only was it HER safety he'd fret over guarding, but their unborn baby's too.

Timidly, she reached over, covering his hand that had been balled into a tight fist, with her own, "Michael," She whispered and at the sound of her comforting voice, his hand opened and welcomed the smaller one that slid into it. His eyes gravitated toward hers and she took in a sharp breath, anxiety overwhelming her. "Michael, I have to... I'm..." He gave her hand a squeeze, one of support and encouragement. It was more than a confidence boost, it was love and trust, the two things Michael nor Nikita award to many people. She had to be brave, it was now or never.

However, when she opened her mouth, the couple were suddenly disrupted by the door being flung open. Instincts kicked in and the duo jumped up immediately in defensive stances, withdrawing their guns as they faced Stefan standing in the doorway.

"What the hell is going on here?" He demanded before beckoning for secruity to come, throwing Michael and Nikita into a mode they comfortable in. When obstacles were against them, they fought harder than ever- and were typically successful.

"Get the USB," Michael instructed his partner before gliding across the room. He grasped the fabric on the front of Stefan's shirt and yaked him inside.

"Are they coming?" Nikita called out, rummaging around various drawers, suitcases, and other potential hiding places for the coveted digital storage holder.

"They're not in sight and I don't hear them," He responded, closing the door. He kept his gun trained on the mark while checking the status of Nikita's task.

"Got it!"She answered, beginning the process of copying the contents onto her own.

"Why are you doing this? Who are you?" A panicked Stefan inquired, glancing nervously between the two assassins.

"I'm a friend," Nikita reassured, pasuing momentarily to lock eyes with him from across the room. She could tell he wanted to believe her, but the gun aimed at his head was a deterent. "Michael, drop the gun; Its not needed," She advised, without looking at her counterpart, "I'm done, there's no need to threaten him anymore."

Michael growled under his breath, lowering his gun while giving Stefan a strict warning about Division and to leave town immediately. "Let's go," He said, grabbing her hand and Nikita used her opposite one to hold the copied flashdrive firmly in her fist, shooting the mark an apologetic smile before they left.

But when they exited the suite, a swarm of secruity guards attacked them. Michael pistoled whipped one of them, while expertly kicking another. Nikita combatted a burly guard who could barely match her skills and was unconscious faster than she was earlier. This continued until a man grabbed Nikita around the stomach and she involuntarily gasped, a sharp pain shooting through her abdomen and worry erupting within her.

Michael saw this and swiftly moved across the room, elbowed the man whose hands were on his woman, on the back of the neck- hard. He went down and Nikita was released, and Michael gave the man a kick to the head before noticing Nikita had sunk to the floor, doubled over in pain.

He heard a dainty cry of pain, his eyes soon fixated on Nikita's small frame curled up on the floor and he physically felt the blood drain from him. He dropped to his knees, and pulled her into him, holding her close, "What'd he do? Where'd he hit you?"

"He.. didn't. Hospital," She groaned in return.

This was an unsual request for Nikita, especially for the woman in his arms. She preferred to keep a low profile, she was a master at it. However, he understood the severity when she pulled back, her eyes pleading, "Please Michael." He didn't think twice, he lifted her with ease and scurried out of the hotel.  



	4. Revelations

(A/N: First off this chap is dedicated to LEXIE. She's so awesome! I love talking to her on twitter and she's such a kick ass Mikita fan and she's WAY too nice to me and always encourages me to update my fics and she said this is her fave one! Hope you enjoy hun!)

"I need a doctor! Now!" Michael bellowed as he sprint into the emergency room of City General, an unconscious Nikita enveloped in his arms. A few nurses swarmed him, bringing a stretcher that he laid Nikita on, but refused to release her hand.

They rolled her to a roomwhere they began performing their common medical tests, simultaneously questioning him on things such as his relation to her, her medical history, and a multitude of other details that Michael racked his brain for. He answered as much as he could before unwillingly exiting the room so they could attend to her.

Meanwhile, Michael paced; He hated this situation, waiting, putting the most important part of his life in someone else's hands- it made him nervous. It also invoked anger within him; He was angry he couldn't be the one to help her. He wanted desperately to take away any pain she felt whilst restoring her to her normal self. The feisty, stubborn, frustrating, and kick ass woman he loved.

Loved. It was then he was forced to the revelation that he had yet to tell her he loves her. Why had he waited so long? Surely she know, but why hasn't he expressed it vocally? 6 years ago, she was a recruit- that was inappropriate. Even when the agents acknoledged their mutual feelings, he hadn't told her, mainly due to the guilt he felt about his wife and daughter. She met Daniel, he didn't tell her. She went rogue, he obviously couldn't tell her. So many obstacles had baracaded their relationship, but what had stopped him now?

Fear possibily was a logical answer. Loving led to hurting or losing, two things Michael didn't handle well. However, no matter if he kept it inside or shout it from the rooftops, him expressing his love didn't the feelings that came with loving away.

He cursed under his breath, he had never been this anxious. The antiseptic aroma and sterile white walls were making him dizzy as he stood outside of her room, refusing to go to a waiting room. A kind nurse wheeled over a chair, again asking his relation to the patient. He simply said they were together, she nodded and walked away. Questions of their undescriptive relationship were not what he needed, all he needed was Nikita. The few weeks they've been able to spend together have been the best he's had in a very long time. Talking, laughing, making love, he would give to just sit across a silent room from her right now if it meant she was alright.

Abruptly, his phone vibrated and he desired nothing more than to smash the cellular device in pieces, but that wasn't an option. Retrieving the phone, he looked at the caller ID to see "Alex" appearing on the weighed his feelings, but he knew his weren't the ones that mattered: Nikita would want him to answer. He hit the appropriate button, "Michael."

"Michael!" Alex practically screeched from the other end of the line, "What the hell happened? I deleted the footage, but when I went up to the 7th floor-"

"Alex..." He growled in a warning tone, dealing with Alex's distress was not what he wanted to do, nor could he in his current mindset. A reason he should've gone with his head and hit the "ignore" button when he had the chance.

"Bodyguards were either passed out or dead and Amanda's up my ass already! What do I do?"

"Alex!" Michael snapped viciously for the second time that day, his temper was getting the best of him, "I don't have time for this right now! Just keep your mouth shut and I'll handle it later!"

She was hesitant to respond, but after a moment, found her courage to speak again, "Michael, are you alright?"

The 19 year old heard him release a defeated sigh, "Listen, I'm going to send you directions in a few minutes, I need you to follow them immediately, OK?" After a pregnant pause, she obliged. "And Alex? I apologize for my attitude today, I was out of line."

"Don't worry about it," She said, a hint of unsureness in her tone, and the line disconnected.

Michael rapidly texted the directions from the proximity of Alex's appartment to where the hospital was located. Alex shot back a confirmation and Michael put his phone back in his pocket, slumping into the chair the nurse had brought him.

"You'll have both of us here; The two people who love you most. If you don't get better for us.." His thought drifeted away as he peered at the door, images of her lying helpless, doctors poking and prodding her clouding his mind. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat, uneasyness washing over him. In the seemingly never ending period of time, multiple nurses entered and exited the room, none telling him anything. He knew he could have forced them, he was quite good at coersion (the fact that he had a gun holstered wasn't exactly irrelevant either), but the effort could have unwanted implications.

Instead, he took out his phone and with a few touches found what he coveted. A picture of himself and Nikita. Taken not too long prior this moment, the photo displayed a close up of the couple. Her head was turned, her lips pressed against his cheek, and a smile radiating off of his own mouth. He recalled the exact moment. They were discussing some future ops (technically bickering), when she suddenly took a seat upon his lap. He didn't mind ofcourse, but he was curious so he asked why.

She proceeded to steal his phone and snap a few pictures (his favorite being the one he was gazing at) and when she finished, she slid the phone back into his phone pocket seductively. He remembered he rose an eyebrow at the action, wondering if she was avoiding previous question. However, she kissed him, and then gave him the answer.

"Because no matter how crazy things we get when kicking Percy or whoever else's ass, we need to hold onto the few good things we do have," She told him and the rest of the night they held eachother.

A brief grin grazed his lips but disappated as the door to Nikita's room opened. "Michael?" He was asked by a stout, 30-something woman in a white coat. He stood to his feet and nodded.

"Is she OK?" He blurted uncharacteristically, and the woman offered a comforting smile.

"I'm Dr. Winters, I'm the physician treating Nikita. Despite the fact she clearly didn't adhere to my instructions the other day, she is indeed fine."

Michael was thrilled to hear she wasn't in any danger, but one consuming fact was tickling him: Why had Nikita gone to a doctor earlier in the week? Nikita hated the infirmary in Division much less actual doctors and hospitals, she would only go if absolutely neccesary. He resisited his urge to interrogate the doc about the visit, knowing she was okay in this moment was all he needed, "So why did she pass out? What-"

He was halted by the doc, who put a hand up to stop him, "She's fully conscious and asking for you. I'll give you some privacy, I'll be in shortly," The woman flashed a smile and strolled down the hall, away from him. He was puzzled, but wasted no time going into Nikita's room.

When Michael opened the door, he exhaled an immediate breath of relief as he noted Nikita was, as the doc said, completely conscious, even giving the last remaining nurse grief about the IV being "unneccesary". He saw as the young male medical personnel rolled his eyes, passing Michael as he was about to leave with a look of "good luck". Nikita looked over and their eyes locked.

"I hate needles," She whispered and he smirked in return.

"I know."

They were silent for a moment, but it wasn't long before Michael sauntered across the short distance and crashed his lips onto hers. The kiss lasted longer than intended and Michael felt guilty for stealing her oxygen after she had passed out approximately two hours beforehand.

They seperated and he leant his forehead against hers, "Don't ever scare me like that again."

"No promises," She teased, her eyes opening and staring into his. He gave her a disappointed look and she rolled her eyes.

He sat down on the bed facing her, "The doctor said she'd be back in here soon," Nikita nodded, glancing at her hands, trying to ignore the fact that one had a needle piercing it, "She also said you'd seen her earlier this week, wanna tell me what thats about?" She inhaled deeply, and suddenly his hand was intertwined with her own and he was squeezing hers supportively.

"Nikita," He began, "Whatever is going on, its not going to change anything. We're going to take down Percy no matter what, and I'm going to love you no matter what so-"

"Woah, go back- you love me?" She didn't know why the concept seemed so outlandish, she'd always assumed.

Michael chuckled, in all honesty he didn't even realize he said it, it just seemed natural, "Yes. Is that a problem?"

She playfully punched him in the stomach with the hand free medical instruments, "No, I love you too, smartass."

His expression switched to one of surprise, "Smartass?"

"Like you didn't already know that about yourself?"

"Didn't expect you of all people to call me it."

"Me, 'of all people'? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Pot meets kettle."

Nikita sent him and glare, but let a smile cross her lips, "Michael, I have to tell you something."

"Another insult?"

"About the appointment I had, why I fainted," The light moment was gone, she could tell from his face. His hand squeezed hers again. He wanted to demand this information when he had first entered the room, but the last thing she needed was him acting like her training again. Demanding answers like a drill sergeant and what not. He remained quiet as she seemed to be searching for the correct words and he was becoming more nervous, what was she going to tell him? Did she have a disease? Would he lose her permanently? Could it be from a previous injury?

"I'm pregnant."

Well that was unexpected.

(A/N Part Dos: Hehe! She told him! Yay! LOL. Sorry there wasn't THAT much Mikita interaction this time and sorry like it seems like I'm making Michael like hate Alex, I'm really not. I was just thinkig of how irritated he'd be and not want to deal with other things. I like the fact that ya'll don't know yet whether Alex knows about Mikita or not, because I actually don't know either. I'm writing it so far like it could go either way, but next chap. she'll be heavily featured since she is on her way to the hospital whether she knows or not LOL ;) So tell me your thoughts, I love hearing them!)


	5. Emotions

Tense silence filled the hospital room, swelling around the couple. Their hands remained clasped, their eyes still locked. Nikita swallowed hard, feeling an overwhelming sense of fear that had been rising from her gut. Her initial anxiety about revealing the truth to Michael was obviously not unwarranted as she observed his eyes cloud with a variety of thoughts.

It wasn't hard to decifer Michael, at least not for Nikita. Concern would consume him, guilt would overpower him since he would take the responsibility of them accidentally conceiving, and he'd become a shell of the person he is, simply to guard her and their child. That or they'd eventually seperate from one another, two things Nikita wanted less than anything in the world.

She wished that they were different sometimes. She loved some of the adventure they got to endure on a daily basis, the adrenaline rush was satisying as long as they were in no immediate danger. They made a great team, especially while working together to bring down Division or do any type of good. But with the new circumstances, she imagined them in a quaint house, a white picket fence, a few pets, with jobs where they weren't in danger. That is the life her and Michael should have set up before they created a baby.

Nikita suddenly felt extremely nautious and couldn't tell if it was morning sickness, the angst of waiting for Michael's impending vocal reaction, or the notions she had just been pondering. However, she didn't have much time to decide when her lips were suddenly caught by his in a surprising and passionate kiss. It was a deep liplock, one filled with emotion and fire like most of their kisses, but than she felt his lips curve into a smile against hers. After a moment, he pulled back, and she gripped his hands so tightly her knuckles were fading to a ghostly paleness.

"You're pregnant," He repeated , disbelief dripping from his voice, a smile still firmly on his lips.

"Unbelievable, right?" A huff of laughter escaped as the words were spoken, her eyes brimming with tears, watching the grin on Michael's face. He lifted his hand, brushing away a few drops that had prematurely glided down her cheeks.

"Thats what you were so nervous about telling me," He concluded without question, allowing his hand to linger on her face momentarily, before returning it to hold hers. She nodded slowly, her lips thinning, anxiet resurfacing. "Baby," He crooned, causing Nikita's apprehension to disapate, joy from the softly spoken pet name taking its place, "Why would you be nervous about that?"

She cocked her head to the side, staring at him bewilderment, "Well gee, Michael, I don't know. Maybe the fact we got together barely two months ago and have had hardly any time for just the two of us, that could be a reason. There's also that pesky thing about us being a couple composed of a double agent and a rogue agent, trying to take down a corrupt black ops organization." The sarcasm was unstoppable. She was thrilled he was more than accepting of everything, but how could he not see how imperfect this situation was? "Michael, this wasn't exactly planned; we were doing so good in all realms of our relationship and now... I just don't want everything to change or force this change on you."

"Nikita, a lot of things in our lives haven't been planned, that doesn't mean they can't end up great."

"I doubt don't he or she," Placing her hands over her flat stomach gingerly, "Will be the best thing thats ever happened to me, but this isn't an op- its not a situation I can manipulate."

Michael shook his head, receiving an inquistive look from his girlfriend, "You keep saying 'I', but we're in this together. Did you think I didn't mean that before?" She exhaled a shaky breath , but he didn't permit her time to answer, "I LOVE you, I have for years. Yes, ideally, we would have taken down Percy and started talking about a family... A house with a yard, ugly white picket fence, probably a couple of dogs," Nikita smiled to herself, recounting the various thoughts she had of their future being the way he just described. Her thoughts were interrupted by him placing his hand on her stomach, atop of hers, "We're strong enough to handle this."

She felt a few more tears trickle down her cheeks and removing her hands from their position, she began furiously wiping them away, "I hate being so emotional!" She muttered and Michael tried to stifle a chuckle at her frustration. Seeing Nikita, normally in charge and composed, struggling with the simple inner conflict of pregnancy hormones was entertaining.

"It's OK," He encouraged, nudging her knee gently.

Glacning up, she squinted her eyes into slits full of suspicion, "Are you laughing at me?"

"Absolutely not." His smile contradicted the statement and Nikita swiftly assualted his arm.

"Just a reminder that I can still kick your ass."

Michael snorted, "Not for long. You didn't think you could go on missions pregnant and think everything would be alright." However, Nikita averted her eyes from his gaze and realization struck him, "The doctor said you had seen her recently.. You knew you pregnant before today? And you went on the op?" His voice transformed from low and unsure, growing more indignant with each word.

This wasn't an unpredicted reaction. Michael had always been very overprotective, the addition of the child they created would ofcourse accelerate this feeling. However, she knew it was not only for the baby, but for her as well.

"Michael, I couldn't just abandon Alex. Speaking of-"

"Don't even try to change the subject. Does being in this hospital even illustrate the amount of danger you put yourself in?"

"Nothing happened!"

"You passed out, twice. When the guard grabbed you, it could have easily.." He choked on the sentence, unable to form the words his mind was forcing him to mull over. Nikita cupped one side of his face, her thumb rythemically stroking his skin as he spoke, "Nikita... I can't lose you. I can't lose-"

"I know," And she did. Losing another woman and kid he loved would be the end of him. He'd break until he couldn't be broken anymore and than he would just self destruct. A one man bomb, emotions of a broken heart splattered for the world to see. She wouldn't let that happen; she loved him too much to ever let that even come close to transpiring.

Michael leaned into Nikita's touch, lighly kissing her palm, "We'll figure it out," He assured adamently as he took her hand from his face and clutching it in his own.

"We always do," Nikita concurred and they both leaned in, meeting in a soft kiss only to be broken by Alex's voice.

"What the hell is going on?"

(A/N: Alright you guys tell me if Nikita was out of character extremely in this chapter. I was trying to find a balance between who Nikita is, who she is mixed with pregnancy hormones AND the stress of telling her babydaddy the truth and them dealing with everything. I hope I did OK :) She won't be like this in every chapter, this chap (hence its name) was just very much handling the emotions involved.) 


	6. Conversations

Alex stood awkwardly in the doorway after her outcry, just as speechless as Michael and Nikita. "I.. I'm sorry," The young agent finally spoke, albeit nervously, "I, um, asked the nurse and she saud the man I described was in here... She failed to mention it was in a parallel universe." Nikita managed a grin at her protege's off-handed commentin the tense situation. "I'm assuming he knows," Alex stated.

Her mentor confirmed with a nod, "He knows."

"He is right here," Michael injected with a smirk, recieving the same obvious look from the women.

Nikita squeezed his hand, "We know hun."

"How long have you and HUN," Alex emphasized and the opposite woman giggled while Michael rolled his eyes, "been, uh... alligning?"

"Almost two months," Nikita solemnly answered, "I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner about him joining us, but I promise you were never in any danger."

"Absolutely non," Michael added, keeping his hand firmly in Nikita's clammy palm; she was nervous and he understood. Alex was alarge component of her life and the last thing she'd want to do is exhile her. If he could ease her anxiety in any way, he would.

"I'm not doubting that especially with my two guardian angels," The Russian native winked at her mentors who smiled back at her.

"Alex no one would blame you if you were pissed," Nikita offered after the light moment disapated. However, in contrast to Nikita's consent, the teen shrugged. She could choose to be angry, she could lash out if she wanted; a normal person could possibly do that for feeling "betrayed"- but Alex wasn't normal. Nikita was her family and as for her Division handler, she had never habored any animosity towards him. As well as those reasons, she deduced a long time ago that Michael and Nikita were much more than ex-co-agents. They were together and, judging by their smiles and body language, they were happy- an emotionAlex had rarely seen on either individual. Who was she to interfere with that just to complain about something that had, if anything, protected her more?

"As long as I don't walk in on.. naked encounters at the lair, I'm cool."

"No promises," Nikita teased suggestively, tapping the Michael's lower back close to his rear. He slapped his forehead against his palm and the girls barely stifled chuckles. "You have no idea how happy I am that you're OK with this," She commented to her pupil.

Alex smiled in return, "Ofcourse. This is a win-win for me."

"How?"

"Well Michael, you have higher access at Division meaning we're closer to bringing down Division, also, the boring 'if you're happy, I'm happy' schpeal, and I love being right." Her cocky grin caused her mentor to dramatically roll her eyes- she knew exactly what she was insinuating.

"I told you before to let it go."

"I don't have to now because it's true!

"Anyone want to inform me of this code language?" Michael quesstioned and his girlfriend locked stares with him.

"She's been begging me to tell her about me and you because she assumed something happened."

"I still don't know why you didn't just tell me," The light haired brunette crossed her arms over her chest defiantly.

"Because nothing happened," Alex squinted skeptically at Nikita as she spoke, "Fine we had a... special relationship, but it didn't go farther than.."

At this, Alex inserted her fingers into her ears like a petulant child, mumbling a non specific pattern of "la la"'s, "I've chnaged my mind, I really don't wanna know; I'm happy for you, however it happened- end of story."

Nikita nudged Michael, a cocky smirk plastered on her lips. "Good job," He whispered in her ear, kissing the shell of it so swiftly that it was unnoticable to the third party in the room.

She moved her arm and involuntarily winced as the IV needle shifted in the interior of her elbow. "Damn needles," She muttered and attempted to drown out her beau's following warnings to be more careful. As they began to bicker about her (or lack there of) cautiousness, Alex's eyes widened.

"Ohmigod! I'm so sorry! I didn't even ask if you were OK or what was wrong! Are you alright? What happened?" She gasped, whether it be from shock or needing a breath after her rapid spit of questions, "I knew you were sick! I never should have agreed to let you help me on the mission."

"Have you met me?" Nikita chuckled, gesturing for the 19 year old to come to her. She shuffled closer and her teacher grapsed her hands, "First of all, I take care of YOU, not the other way around. Secondly, I do everything MY own way."

"Nikita the righteous," Michael smirked and his girlfriend glanced at him with a matching expression before returning her attention to Alex. Confusion was still written on the young girl's face so Nikita offered a comforting smile.

"I'm FINE. I..." These were one of the moments where the assassin cherished her ability to effortlessly lie, "The mark found me and Michael, I was trying to fight off some of the secruity guards he managed to call for and hit my head."

"She was out of it for awhile," Michael said while staring at the floor. His low, truthful tone pained Nikita, knowing that his addition and feelings attached to it were honest. Now holding Michael's hand with one of her own and Alex's with the opposite, she finished the story.

"And Michael being overprotective as usual made me come here."

Thankfully, Alex seemed to accept this semi-true fable as she outstretched her arms and hugged the dark haired beauty, "Well I'm happy you're OK," she retracted suddenly, "You are OK right?"

"Yes nothing but a concussion and some bruises."

"But she still should take it easy, so why don't you go home and the three of us can try to meet up tomorrow," Michael suggested, standing from the bed as he gestured Alex in the direction of the door.

"Told you, overprotective," Nikita rolled her eyes, the two people she loved turning to look at her; Michael shooting her a glare whilst Alex giggled. Saying brief goodbyes, Michael walked the young agent out in the hallway and was immediately smacked with interrogatory questions.

"Is she really OK? She HATES hospitals, especially because she thinks its dangerous with the whole we're all technically dead thing. And I don't care if you have more experience than me, I WILL kill you if you lie and/or she gets hurt in any way!"

Michael could tell she was serious and thought this might initmidate him, but his reaction was less than shaky. Arching an eyebrow and a smirk rolling across his lips, "I appreciate that but if she ever gets hurt, the only one who will be doing the killing is me."

"I'm ser-"

"Alex, you have nothing to be concerned about... I love her," His declarationw as less than shocking to his student.

"Well duh! I knew you loved her since you compared her to a cancer. By the way, you suck at hiding things for a secret spy," Michael didn't know how to respond to her forward opinions so she continued, "But while I'm glad my speech got you to admit that to someone besides her, I did mean every word of it."

This time Michael just laughed and got a glare sent his way in return, "I'm sure you did." They said goodbye and Alex exited the hospital.

Before his hand could reach the door knob to resume his spot by his lady love's side, Dr. Winters approached him in the hallway.

"Are you and Nikita ready?" She simply questioned and Michael swallowed hard, nerves suddenly over coming him.

"Depends on what you have to say."

The doc's face was unreadable as she said in a gentle voice, "Its something you both have to hear." 


	7. Release

"Dr. Winters," Nikita nodded towards the doctor, visibly uncomfortable as Michael and the doc entered the hospital room. The physician had been in the room prior to her beau's prescence; Nikita was unconscious the majority of the time, but they had chatted briefly, mainly the white-coat clad woman varying between asking questions and scolding her patient for disobeying her medical advice from the last consoltation.

"Nikita," Dr. Winters smiled sweetly, "How are you feeling?"

"Like I need to get the hell out of here!" The rogue agent responded anxiously and Michael smirked, taking a seat on the bed beside his favorite girl. His fingers found and laced with hers, squeezing it gently to ressaure her of his support.

"Theres nothing to worry about," He whispered to her, but loud enough for the doctor to here. He turned to her with accusitory eyes, "Right?"

Dr. Winters maintained a grin, a clip board resting on her hip, "Correct. Nikita, you and your baby are just fine." Although Michael already knew this information from his first encounter with the doctor, he released a sigh of relief along with Nikita. Something could have changed since Dr. Winters informed him his girlfriend and baby were in no immediate danger, but he couldn't be more grateful they didn't- niether components of the couple could. "Your tests came back as to be expected- everything looking good, except for your blood pressure. As I told you before Nikita, you must avoid stressful situations; this incident could have been alot worse."

"Thank god it wasn't," Michael murmured, pressing a kiss to his baby mama's temple and a smile sweeped across her lips at his touch.

"You probably fainted from the spike in blood pressure, as well as normal fatigue- not uncommon, especially in the first trimester. But while you and the fetus seem to be out of the woods, I am going to order a 2 week bedrest to insure things proceed as they should from now on."

Nikita's eyes widened, disbelief at the doc's words consuming her, "Bedrest? For two weeks? Are you kid-"

"She'll do it," Michael cut her off abruptly, as a result, Nikita's head snapping in his direction. Without looking, he could sense her glare upon him, but his eyes were fixated on the doc as she continued to speak.

"Michael, I trust you will make her adhere to these instructions."

"Absolutely."

"He's had alot of practice taking orders," Nikita muttered bitterly, keeping her glare firm as he finally locked eyes with her.

"She's just never been good at taking them," Michael growled, both irritated by the other in the moment, "But she'll pay attention this time."

"I can speak for myself, Michael."

"You were going to disagree?"

"No but-"

He turned to the doc, "Then please, Dr. Winters, continue."

The doctor nodded politely, "Thank you. After the two weeks are done, I will need you to come in, we can do the sonogram, and proceed from there. Other than that and the other reccommendations I made during our last visit, you can expect to be discharged in less than a half hour."

These words were like joyful music, and Nikita's enthusiasm was undeniable, "Its about time!" Releasing her hand from Michael's and swinging her legs off the side of the bed, she prepared to make her getaway only to feel a pair of masculine hands tugging her shouldars back onto the mattress.

"Not so fast," Michael stated, "Until you've actually signed the release forms, you're not going anywhere."

Nikita groaned, forcing a smile to the doctor before she exited, but once she was out of sight, the dark haired beauty spun around to face Michael, "She's gone, we can go now." Her next attempt to get up was just as futile as the first. "Michael, I need to get out of here! This place is starting to suffocate me."

"You've been here for 2 hours, you were in and out of consciousness most of the time," He pointed out and she scowled, and rolled her eyes.

"I love how protective you are of me and," She put her hand on her stomach briefly, "the little one, but Michael, theres a point where you need to release the grip a bit. For example, don't speak for me to MY doctor, I'm perfectly capable of doing that."

"Oh yeah, you don't need watched at all, thats why you ended up here, right?"

She hated when he was right, and she hated even more when she was wrong. Yes, Michael's overprotectiveness was irritating, but he was just looking out for her, and considering that she was staring at four hospital walls, he had a point.

Her face and voice softened, "I didn't intentionally put either of us in danger."

"I know you didn't, but do you know how irrespon-"

"Stop. I realize what I did wasn't the best of decisions at that time, but you do not get to start talking to me like I'm another one of your Division recruits again."

"Thats not what I'm trying to-"

"Well you are, and you don't need to. I've been taking care of myself, by myself, for a long time and I know I won't be a great mom, but you need to trust that I will continue to protect myslef and now, this baby, with everything in me. You told me, just before Alex got here, that we were in this together- we are, but that means as a TEAM. You're not in charge, you're not calling the shots all the time, we do this TOGETHER."

Her saying this wasn't shocking, she had always been fiercely independent and Michael loved that about her. However, his jaw was hanging slightly and he blinked a few time, simply staring at her. Her eyes were questioning, but she avoided speaking again.

"Nikita," He commanded, yet with a soft tone to his gruff voice, "How could you possibly think you won't be a good mother?" She swallowed hard, his concerned eyes overwhelming her with emotion, but she refused to answer so he filled in the silence. "You, you can fight off ten assailiants without breaking a sweat, you can infer information and piece together intel faster than anyone I've ever met, and you have unique ways of getting what you want, but you do it because its what you believe needs to happen."

"Michael..." She whimpered, squeezing her eyes shut, trying to drown out the beautiful things spilling from him. He smiled, he knew her well, and well enough to know, lengthy compliments were hardly her cup of tea. The occasional ego boost, sure, but ot endless adulations.

"Did I say I was finished?" He questioned, grabbing her hand in his and she seemed amused and annoyed by his forcefuulness, but realized she couldn't bring him to a halt, "But aside from you being an excellent assassin, a badass one even- you are smart, and beautiful, and have an enormous heart. Its way you left Division, its why you care about people so deeply, its one of the things I love about you. Look at you with Alex earlier! You were the one in a hospital bed, but more concerned with HER feelings, HER well being and state of mind. So I don't ever want to hear you say again that you won't be a good mom, because I couldn't think of anyone better."

He reached up and stroked her cheek with his thumb, catching a stray tear that trickled down her cheek. She smiled, rolling her eyes upward and fixating her eyes on the ceiling to withhold the tears, "Damn hormones." Michael couldn't resist chuckling and Nikita mocked him, "Ha-ha, you're laughing now but you're stuck with this for 7 more months."

Still keeping his smile, he leaned in, pecking her lips, "You're wrong."

"Shocking," She laughed, but was curious, "What now?"

"First off, I'm not stuck and YOU'RE stuck with ME for a helluva lot longer than 7 months."

"Oh yeah?"

"Yup."

Nikita'a grin shined bright and she reahced over and cupped his face, pulling him into a deep kiss. When the two seperated for need of oxygen, a smirk teased her perfect lips, "I'm good with that."

"Good, because you don't have a choice," They both laughed, and he kissed her again, feeling complete bliss, "I love you."

"I love you too," She whispered against his lips, only to be interrupted by the hospital door opening. A nurse stood, a clip board in hand and Michael and Nikita understood what that meant. They were being released to their new, and forever changed, lives.

(A/N: I promise the chapters after this will be MUCH better! Lots more fun, lots more drama, lots more twists! Nikita had her moment of questioning her parental abilities, and Michael will too. Percy will ofcourse come into play. Alex will be seen more, and she will have an influential role in the future chaps of this fic. I had to get this chapter out of the way though so they could leave the hospital. Hope you all will consider reading, I will try to not wait as long to update next time! :D) 


	8. Fire

"Michael!" Nikita squealed as the duo entered the loft, "Michael, put me down!"

As soon as the car had pulled up to the designated curb, Michael hadn't permitted his girlfriend's feet to touch the ground. Carrying her bridal style, she'd been pleading with him to release her, but secretly enjoying the feeling of being in his arms. She could have easily manuevered herself from his arms, but for one moment she allowed herself to indulge in the sweet gesture; at the same time, she didn't want her beau to think their baby was making her a softie, hence the objections.

"OK, we're inside- put me down."

"The doctor ordered bedrest, not to be on your feet, no movement," Michael stated soberly as they rounded the corner and proceeded into the open living area.

Nikita giggled, "Actually Dr. Winters said no EXTREME or STRESSFUL movement; walking from the car is niether."

"Well I'm not taking any chances. So for once you'll just have to listen," He instructed, hovering her above the bed. Nikita's nose crinkled, shooting a glowering glance at him after this comment.

"What do you mean 'for once'?"

Michael chuckled, setting his still-scowling girlfriend onto the mattress. Any annoyance she possessed faded away when her head collided the pillow. An involunatary sigh of pleasure escaped her lips when the feeling of the luxurious fabic beneath her. Her boyfriend smiled, watching her eyes flutter shuit and a grin sprawl across her face.

After a moment, one of her eyelids lifted to see Michael's blissful expression, "What are you smiling about?"

"Its just nice to see you relaxed; better get used to that bed."

"Ugh, don't remind me. Bedrest- unbelieveable. Obviously she's unaware that Percy doesn't take holidays."

"You let ME handle Percy. Make some room," He ordered lightly, signaling for her to scoot over and she obliged, making room for him to slide in beside her.

She snuggled next to him, his arm naturally draping around her. And while the intimacy was nice, Nikita knew that ignroing the real conflict, for once not Percy, was impossible.

"You know, when we decided to take Division, we never imagined a kid would be involved. We have to discuss how we're going to handle this. I mean, rogue agent parents taking down a secret, lethal organization of the goverment wouldn't exactly be a great subject for parent career day," She shifted uneasily, but still remained in Michael's enclosed arm. She looked up, eyes matching his own, "And besides, how are we going to keep he or she safe from not only Percy and Division, but Gogol, the CIA, and every other pissed off organization?"

"Guess we should've rented 'Spy Kids' when we had the chance, huh?"

"Michael! This's isn't funny," She scolded, but Michael was still grinning.

"Nikita," He sighed exasperately, pulling her back down so her head rested soundly on his firm chest, "I told you at the hospital, we will figure it out, but you need to rest and I just want to enjoy this moment; I just found out the woman I love is having my baby, the last thing I want in my head is Percy." Nikita released a subtle chortle at his growled pronunciation of his boss's name as well as his overall statement. Sitting up, she eyed him suspiciously, causing his own suspicions to arise, "What?"

"I'm trying to determine if this pregnancy is making me delusional; did YOU just tell ME to quit thinking about work?"

Michael's brow raised, amused by her teasing, "Is that your unsubtle way of saying I'm a workaholic?"

"If the suit fits..."

"I thought you liked my suits."

"I like you better out of them," She flirtatiously murmured, leaning in closer to his lips.

Their lips met with the same firey passion that ignited in every embrace. And almost in an instant, Nikita was straddling her beau on the bed, him helping her rolling her shirt over her body while she assisted in unbuttoning his.

"I don't think this is the kind of bedrest Dr. Winters was talking about," The femme fatale panted, Michael gracing her neck with his hot kisses.

"Close enough," He grunted in reply before gently flipping her still-thin physique onto the mattress as he hovered above her, gently pressing his body against hers. This was how normal couples behaved. This was how two people in love, expecting their first child, were supposed to act. But the looming of reality stuck in the back of their heads. Those glaring questions, scenarios, and potential dangers rising in their minds like smoke from a freshly lit chimney. And while flames of passion molded them together in that moment, niether Michael, nor Nikita, could stop wondering: when will the explosion occur to tear everything apart?

(A/N: OK so first off- I apologize heavily for not updating this for like.. ever! The one fic I have been addicted to writing, Team Nikita, took my first priority, but now even that hasn't been updated for awhile. I'm SO sorry. Between classes, vidding, and working on my novel, my fics have take a backseat but I am going to change that! I'm going to TRY to at least update one of my two fics every week (bear with me cause that prob won't happen, lol. but its good to have a goal). It means SO much to me that y'all hit me up on here and on twitter about me updating because that means you guys actually enjoy my fics and that is SUCH a compliment! thank you all! I apologize, secondly, for this chapter being so short, but oh my what I have outlined for the coming chaps, I suspect they'll be long. LOTS of drama coming, folks! lol) 


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